Topic: Nintendo Movement by Shokio, what do you think?

Cross-buy should happen, plain and simple. I'm not saying we should spam Miiverse to get it, but I would hope Nintendo would simply look around and realize it's a good idea. There are multiple times where I don't buy a VC title on the 3DS or Wii U because I'm holding out to see if it will be released on the other system. That's just bad business. I want the product, but I don't buy it because I want to see my options. If I knew that every NES & SNES VC title I bought would play on my Wii U or 3DS, at some point (it doesnt even have to be available on both at release) I would buy more VC titles.

Given VC is planned to be a standalone service I can see crossplay being feasible.

It seems like most people in this thread ignore the fact that the only reason we got Earthbound in the U.S. (according to Iwata) is from fans demanding it.

This movement is working.

@concerndoge How so?

And? They were more than happy to recognise that I already own Wii VC games and give me a discount. They're more than happy to run deals where buying one title gives you a discount or free game somewhere else. Personally I'd be far more inclined to purchase VC titles if it was linked to my NNID rather than my system. They have the infrastucture to do this now, why not?

Also, what makes you think this is harder than other cross-buy systems? You think no extra effort is required to get iPad software looking good? You think that an steam game on Windows is just a checkbox away from the same game on Mac or Linux? Do you really think getting Super Mario Bros to run on the 3DS is harder than porting Portal to Linux?

Not just that. When the game isn't cross-buy I'll almost certaintly not buy games that I would have otherwise gotten. I haven't once yet brought any games on both 3DS and Wii U and I don't intend to. From memory I've only ever brought a portable and non-portable version of the same game in the same generation once. And that was Geometry Wars Galaxies...

I don't think I'm alone in this.

@skywake
Steam doesn't guarantee a game can be played on a different OS, it is the publisher/developer's choice to support another OS. I wasn't comparing them as being harder, I was saying it is extra work. I do know iPhone to iPad is super easy, compared to other devices.

I also have not bought a game on both systems. I don't understand why people would. Cross-buy would be nice, I just don't expect it. Why would Nintendo do it? You want a game then buy it, if you don't know what system you want it for then decide. I have a gaming PC and a Wii U, I bought Arkham Origins on Wii U because of the GamePad and wanting to support 3rd Parties on Wii U. So just because you don't know what system you want a game for means you don't buy the game? That seems weird to me.

Said nothing of the sort. He acknowledged there were people who were interested in it. Not the same thing.

And? What's your point? We're talking about titles that are already available on both platforms here. When you buy a game on Steam that is available on multiple platforms then that game is available on multiple platforms. When I buy a NES game on the Wii U VC I then have to buy it again at full price in order to play it on my 3DS. What advantage does anyone get from this system?

If you agree that nobody is going to pay double to play a NES game on two platforms rather then one then we are in agreement. Nintendo has nothing to lose by allowing you to play the games already on both systems if you've purchased it once already. However they do have something to gain if that game is more flexible.

Do you really not understand how it could be an easier sell? How about the idea that sometimes you might want to play a NES game on the TV and sometimes you might want to play while waiting for a bus? Maybe a person who thinks that would make the game more valuable would also not feel like literally paying double for the privilege.

You asked why Nintendo would do this. Why would Nintendo NOT do this? We're in agreement that people don't buy these games twice right? So What do they have to gain?

The only way I see cross-buy happening, is if Nintendo charges $2-5(depending on the software's original price). If a cross-buy game has online modes, simultaneous use would cost more to up keep the servers, and it gives another transaction for developers and Nintendo to work with. You pay $2-5, you get cross-play, they get a bit more money. It seems like a win-win, IMO.

Some PSN games don't have cross-buy, despite being on both platforms, so they are doing something behind the scenes to make it happen. Presumably, money.

Good lord... These poor people honestly believe that whining is going make Nintendo do something costly. I think I'm about to go on a trolling spree.

Then they are accentual giving 1 version away for free. 1 version in which they put money towards making.

I said I wouldn't buy games twice and I don't understand why people would, that doesn't mean people don't do this.

Nintendo has money to lose. If people are paying twice for games then Nintendo would be losing money. If Nintendo gave away those games they would lose out on any revenue stream of people buying the same game twice.

I totally see how it would be a better value for the consumer. I totally see how it would be easier to sell the games. I see how it could help see Wii Us as 3DS owners with VC games would already have a Wii U library started. I just don't think Nintendo owes us Cross-Buy.

No company "owes" us anything, but I doubt VC Games cost anything significant to make. Sometimes, it's good for a company to simply do something out of good will toward its consumers, Nintendo does it to lure customers in (free Pokemon, free X with purchase of X) and occasionally to cover their butt in a bad situation (free Excite Bike 3D, Ambassador Program, etc.).

Currently, I don't see cross-buy working for VC, anyway. SNES, N64, GB, GBC, etc. probably aren't coded to work on one console or the other.

Once they have everything working on both platforms, that's when they would allow the option, but not prior.

The only way some games will work, is if they are programmed to be interchangeable. RE: Revelations on 3DS and Wii U isn't really an effort they can allow to be purchased as the same.

EDIT: Direct ports of 3DS games or Wii U games aren't really excusable. Might Switch Force 2, for example, or possibly EDGE, but this would only work if 3DS was the original target system.

And they're using that as a carrot to get more people to buy their game. Their goal is maximising revenue. If that means enabling cross-buy or pushing discounts in some way then it's a good move. A few weeks ago they had a deal that Dr Mario was free when you downloaded Dr Luigi. You think they worried about "not making money" on Dr Mario when they made that decision? They're even doing a kinda similar deal with Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 8.

Well you answer you own question in this next bit

If it makes it more valuable then the only natural conclusion would be that more people are going to want to buy it. I'd personally even consider paying a small fee to play some VC games that I paid for on the 3DS. I'm not going to pay full price again though. If there was some recognition of my purchases on Wii U over on my 3DS and visa versa then I'd be more likely to purchase more content.

And I never said they owed us it. I was simply saying that it would be nice if they did it and that it would make business sense. If they don't do it then I'll simply continue to buy VC games at the slower non-cross-buy rate that I currently do. Basically 95% just upgrading Wii VC titles I already purchased. I mean even that there is something, if my Wii purchases weren't recognised that's a good ~$7 or so that I would not have given them.

What does Nintendo have to gain from cross buy? I don't think it would be that much of a deciding factor for a lot of people

It's a risk vs reward thing. The "risk" is that there is no way for people to pay for the game twice assuming they have their accounts linked. Undoubtedly some people choose to buy some games twice so that would be lost revenue there. That's the one and only way they "lose" out of it. On the other hand if the one purchase carries over then people who own both platforms will be more likely to purchase games. Like that Dr Mario/Luigi deal, that would have been a much easier sell if buying Dr Luigi meant that I had Dr Mario on Wii U AND 3DS.

The question then is simple. Do enough people buy games on both consoles now to cover the extra sales from cross-buy as well as the brownie points from having a nice system? I'd argue that there aren't that many people who pay for VC games twice. I don't see how this wouldn't be a good move for all involved.

I don't buy the same VC game twice at full price. I do, however, pay a discounted price for a VC game that I already bought once before.
I buy SMB3 on Wii VC for $5.
I pay the upgrade fee of $1 to have it on my Wii U.
I would have another $1 to have it again on my 3DS.
I would not pay $5 to have it on my 3DS if I already have it on my Wii U.
So, Nintendo would be making $1 more with the discounted price. I'm just one person. Assuming 1,000 other people are the same way, that's $1,000 extra. Still, small change for Nintendo, but $1,000 is still more than $0 extra.

Demanding for a game that's easily doable because it was already done in Japan. You do know the fans are demanding a complete overhaul of the eShop and OS that America has no control over.

@Unca_Lz There are fans demanding / requesting all sorts of things. Some are reasonable and some are unreasonable. People in this thread don't seem to be categorizing it by reasonable or unreasonable, but instead by saying that all of these "demands" are wrong because Nintendo should just do whatever they want. Personally, I think Nintendo should make an effort to makes their fans happy and should listen to people in the west more than they are now. They seem to pay a lot more attention to Japan, which is fine for the Japanese, but if Nintendo wants to be an international business, which they clearly do, then they should listen to people from all around the world. Sometimes they do, Earthbound for Wii U VC is an example of that. I'm not saying that Nintendo should do every single thing that their fans demand of them, but when it's something like, doing more for the VC, I think that's reasonable. I mean, Nintendo is doing more for the VC in Japan, but not in the west.

P.S. I think it's great that we can have a discussion like this with a moderator and even if we don't agree you don't resort to things like banning or threatening banning. Not all Nintendo fansites are like that...